The first Future Jobs Scheme (FJS) in WMFS has now come to an end after 6 months. The project aimed to give young people between 18 and 24 who are on job seekers allowance the opportunity of work experience. The project has been a great success with the 20 young people gaining some valuable experience within our organisation in various different departments and Boroughs.
The young people have gained NVQ qualifications in Business Administration and Customer Services a BTEC Qualification in Fire & Rescue services in the Community and gained valuable skills on an employability course. Three of the young people have now gained full time employment with other employer’s as a direct result of the qualifications and experience gained through the Future Jobs Scheme.
The second Future Jobs scheme has just started with another 20 young people joining our organisation,
If anyone would like to find out more information about FJS please contact Keith Fairfax at Tipton Fire Station.
Craig Benion- Payrolls (Future Jobs Scheme Placement)
‘I have really enjoyed my time here spent working in the Payroll & Pensions department within the West Midlands Fire Service Headquarters. I have had a quite a lot of experience in areas I was unfamiliar or lacking confidence with and the support from the team and my line manager I have had whilst I was here has been amazing. I’ve really enjoyed working alongside the team in the Payrolls and Pensions office, they were very supportive, always made time to make sure I was confident and knew how to do the tasks I was given and provided all the help I needed.
The Future Jobs Scheme has provided me with an excellent opportunity to show my current skills and to learn new ones plus also providing some excellent courses that I gained qualifications from such as an NVQ in Business Administration Level 2 and a B-Tec in Fire and Rescue in the Community which are all great things to add to my CV on top of a reference from a highly respected organisation. I would like to thank Keith Fairfax who has also provided excellent support during my time and always made sure I was happy and progressing well. Overall I have learned a lot about how the West Midlands Fire Service organisation works, it has been a pleasure working here and I will be checking for an opportunity in the future to try for a career within this organisation’.
